Melanie Chisholm's fears for music industry

Melanie Chisholm fears artists will struggle to replicate the success of the Spice Girls as she's convinced the digital age has "damaged" the music industry.

The Wannabe hitmakers have sold more than 75 million records worldwide since their 1996 debut, making them the most successful female group of all time - but Chisholm worries pop music is suffering because of online piracy.

She tells Britain's Daily Mail Weekend magazine, "It's a very damaged industry and it's really sad. It's almost like the end of an era. The digital age has been wonderful for the consumer - so much more music is available - but for the record industry it's been difficult because of the quality of piracies (sic) out there.

"You still have huge artists that sell millions of records, the Rihannas, Coldplays and Adeles, but they're few and far between. We were lucky to come along when record sales were huge and record companies spent a lot because there was so much money to be made selling records. Now there isn't, and I don't think it will ever be the same again."